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Honoring Salaiman Khatib of Ramallah, Palestine and Yonatan Shapira of Tel Aviv, Israel in their work with the organization, Combatants for Peace.
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WHEREAS, William Penn founded this city and named it Philadelphia, meaning City of Brotherly Love, based on a vision of a place where people of diverse belief and practice were welcome and could live together in peace and harmony; and
WHEREAS, The organization Combatants for Peace offers a powerful model, from former soldiers and fighters who were each others’ enemy, for transforming a culture of violence into a culture of nonviolence, and who bring to this transformed culture the combatant’s worthy values of strength, authority and respect; and
WHEREAS, Since the beginning of 2005, Combatants for Peace has been organizing meetings between Israeli and Palestinian veterans, to gather information about the violent actions they have taken part in and about the turning point which led them to understand the limits of violence; and
WHEREAS, Recognizing the futility of violence, these former enemies have acted against fears, both personal and societal, and have laid down their arms to meet and dialogue with one another, stating, “We refuse to be enemies.”
WHEREAS, They have brought their message of heart and hope from their homeland to our city – to universities and schools, to religious institutions, and to community groups; and
WHEREAS, Their work involves implementing educational lectures and creating joint projects that educate citizens toward a theme of non-violence, through the establishment of Bi-National media teams that influence public opinion in Israel, Palestine, and the rest of the world; and
WHEREAS, Citizens of Philadelphia still aspire toward William Penn’s vision of a diverse and peaceful society today, and find inspiration in the story of Combatants for Peace; now therefore
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby honor and commend these two men for their work with the group, Combatants For Peace.
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